Submitted March 21, 2006
Accepted June 20, 2006
Expression levels of CD38 in T-cells predict for course
of disease in male patients with B-chronic lymphocytic
leukemia
Inge Tinhofer*, Gabriele Rubenzer, Claudia Holler, Elisabeth Hofstaetter, Markus Stoecher, Alexander Egle, Michael Steurer, and Richard Greil
Laboratory of Immunological and Molecular Cancer Research, University Hospital Salzburg
Division of Hematology and Oncology, Innsbruck Medical University
* Corresponding author; email: i.tinhofer{at}salk.at.
CD38 expression of tumor cells has been identified as important prognostic factor in B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Although CD38 is involved in effector functions of T-cells, the prognostic value of CD38+ T-cells has not yet been addressed in B-CLL. In the present study, CD38 expression levels in B-CLL cells and T-cells from 204 patients were analyzed by flow cytometry and correlated with clinical and molecular risk parameters.
CD38 expression significantly differed in the neoplastic clone from patients with low vs advanced stage, irrespective of the gender of patients. In contrast, CD38 expression was generally higher in T-cells from female as compared to male patients, but only increased in male patients in a stage-dependent manner. In male patients, combined analysis of CD38 in T-cells and B-CLL cells identified 4 subgroups with significantly different treatment-free survival. Multivariate analysis including Rai stage and molecular risk parameters of the neoplastic clone identified CD38 expression levels in T-cells as independent prognostic factor in male patients.
Combined analysis of CD38 in B-CLL and T-cells is superior in predicting outcome of male B-CLL patients than either parameter alone. Further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the gender-specific role of CD38+ T-cells in B-CLL.
